Red Wings' MVP so far this season: Henrik Zetterberg

4:10 PM, January 16, 2011

The Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg / ROBBAN ANDERSSON / EXPRESSEN

BY JOSH HUEBNER /

GROSSE POINTE WOODS

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The Detroit Red Wings are on pace for another special season in HockeyTown as they sit a top their division and trail the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks by just two points in the Western Conference.

Despite the Red Wings’ success, this season has been very similar to last as the team has been decimated by injuries. Last year the team did its best to keep its head above water as the players healed, and the team eventually made a run to reach the playoffs.

While the Red Wings have had to grind out games and are clearly better with Pavel Datsyuk, Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom and Brad Stuart in the lineup, they keep on winning. One of the main reasons for the team’s success has been an outstanding season from Henrik Zetterberg.

Zetterberg hasn’t received the hardware or headlines that Datsyuk has, and the bulk of the leadership of this team is credited to Nick Lidstrom. But he’s been the team’s MVP so far this season.

From day one in his career, Zetterberg subscribed to the "Red Wing way" and has never looked back. He is on pace to match his career high in points from the 2007-08 season and is currently averaging more than a point a game.

The slew of injuries last season defused the Red Wings’ scoring attack, but this season Zetterberg has been there to answer with a goal or an assist whenever his team needed points.

Zetterberg doesn’t have the flashy moves of many of the elite players in the NHL, which has kept him off the radar, but his production and commitment to winning are on par with any player.

The Red Wings have been blessed with many great leaders over the years, most notably Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom, and Zetterberg appears to be the captain-in-waiting whenever Lidstrom finally hangs up his skates. This season the Red Wings have gotten tremendous effort from their entire team, and many have been following the lead of Zetterberg.